


Nature and Nurture

by avaenox



Category: Bartimaeus - Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Changeling!Nathaniel, Fairy AU, Gen, basically 'would Nathaniel behave differently if he had magical powers?', mostly AoS AU, there's an OC I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:28:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26736628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avaenox/pseuds/avaenox
Summary: I've floated the idea of Nathaniel being a changeling (a fairy child swapped for a human child at or near birth) before. I want your take on this! That's it. Nathaniel is a changeling, he awakens to his fairy powers, havok, hilarity, and/ or serious plot ensues.The only mandatory things are that:Nathaniel is still his birthname,Fairy doesn't seem like a fairy until they awaken,Fairy weaknesses include: cold iron, an inability to speak falsehoods, and an inability to to break their word.There should be at least one instance of a word with two meanings being taken advantage of.I will love you for a long while if you manage to:Give Nathaniel an awesome older sisterHave a deal include the phrase "exactly what you deserve." And then the revelation that what the fairy thinks they deserve and what the character thinks they deserve differ greatly.Have footnotes.Assignment given by user Neathra :)
Relationships: Bartimaeus & Nathaniel (Bartimaeus), Nathaniel & OC
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3
Collections: Bartimaeus Fic Exchange 2020





	1. Bartimaeus

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Neathra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neathra/gifts).



> Footnotes are indicated by ^and the number and are at the bottom

There is much unknown in this world you call your own. You lay your claim to it and rule it but you don’t know all about it.

We spirits are not the only otherworldly visitors in your world[1]. Why exactly there are others is a riddle for sure, since I doubt anything in possession of a sane mind would freely spend their time on this dull plane of existence. We at least don’t have a say in our presence.

It is, however, fact that there are more living things than you would believe there to be. Most of them never interact with humanity and for good reason. They rarely come out of their hiding places and are firmly placed in the world of myth and legend for your kind. Therefore, we , too, tend not to meet them but the more clever spirits know they exist.

Fairies are just one of them. They, like us, are not of your world and have found their way to yours. I have rarely seen them and even rarer spoken to one. They are the twinkle in the corner of your eye, the thing that you feel moving when you’re not looking. Silver-tongued and quick witted[2], they have magic and can change their appearance well enough to trick even the most powerful djinn.

Encounters were few and always by chance. We didn’t bother them and they didn’t bother us. In the past centuries, they seemed to have disappeared altogether.

You can imagine my surprise when I realised one of them had summoned me.

In all honesty- I didn’t realize it on my own. Looking back, it becomes more obvious, but at first, he looked like any other boy way in over his head. Didn’t act any differently either. The boy ordered me around like any other magician. I fulfilled his orders, learned his birth name, got locked up in the Tower of London - you know the spiel. During all this time I never saw anything to suspect him of being anything but ordinary.

When I returned[3] something had changed.

Well- a lot had, actually. Starting with Lovelace himself knocking at the door shortly after I returned. Just moments earlier, the boy had been chastised by his master. Wide-eyed and pale , he looked like the child he was. In fact, he looked even younger than he did when we last spoke.

While his master and his enemy were exchanging polite greetings and thinly veiled threats, the boy looked like he gathered up all his courage. He squared his shoulders and walked on towards his certain doom. He confessed his theft and when - unsurprisingly, really – Lovelace decided to destroy him looked like his world fell apart[4].

We had been standing in Underwood’s office on the first floor when all hell broke loose. Jabor had appeared and had promptly tried to kill my master. Something had started burning, our lives were in danger and Nathaniel chose this moment to freeze.

The windows had darkened and a quick look told me that vines had covered the windows. A part of me wondered if it was a ploy by Lovelace to prevent anyone from fleeing outside but at that point I was mostly busy trying to get Nathaniel and myself away from the giant smelly monster that was trashing the house.

Later, after we had run through nightly London and taken cover, I reflected on all that had happened. It didn’t make sense for Lovelace to lock the building; Jabor was powerful enough on his own and some detail like that would make it harder to make everything look like an accident[5].

[1] Though undoubtedly the most fascinating.

[2] Sure sounds familiar, eh?

[3] After a daring and clever escape from the Tower and two malevolent and powerful spirits, I might add

[4] Not a bad description of what Jabor is able to do, to be honest. Although Nathaniel might have been more surprised by the betrayal of his master. In the end, he still was a child, and a coddled one at that.

[5] Speaking as a bit of a professional here. I don’t often resort to arson, but I have dabbled in it once or twice, usually to ensure that all evidence was destroyed. In general, fire is just too uncontrollable to be suitable to my finely tuned brand of fulfilling orders. Just look at Rome or London; you look away once and suddenly the entire town is in flames.


	2. Nathaniel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathaniel and Bartimaeus leave London

Once they left the city bounds, Nathaniel’s mood improved steadily. He’d never left London before and while he thought of the city’s grand buildings as a marker of civilisation, he couldn’t help but admire the wide planes and fields he now saw through the windows of the train. The colours seemed more intense and the air felt lighter. 

The demon, too, seemed to prefer it’s new surroundings. Bartimaeus had kept a close watch on him ever since they’d fled from Lovelace’s lackeys. His unnatural eyes seemed to rest on Nathaniel who was unnerved by their constant gaze.

Finally, the train stopped and they continued their way on foot. The small and winding paths through the landscape were new to Nathaniel who was used to wide sidewalks and paved streets. He looked over his shoulder from time to time, nearly convinced to be caught by one of Lovelace's spirits. At one point he was sure to have noticed someone watching and stumbled over his feet. 

The demon sighed tragically as he made no effort to help Nathaniel up. 'Really', he said, 'what do they do with apprentices these days? Back in the day magicians would make their apprentices clean the house, carry water to fill their tubs and chop firewood! That built character!' 

'Silence!' ordered Nathaniel, who had gotten up unharmed, except for a bruised bottom... and pride. 'Did you see that?'  
'Nothing but a stumbling idiot and his overqualified babysitter of a djinn'. Ignoring the usual insolence of his servant, Nathaniel had continued to scan their surroundings. After walking through endless fields, they had finally entered what looked like a small forest. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. 'Make sure that we're alone.', he ordered. The demon released a magical impulse from his palm and waited. 'Nothing', he declared finally. 'At least nothing magical'. Nathaniel accepted his judgement and continued down the path, the feeling of being watched following him.

The path winded through the forest and Nathaniel felt both more lost and more at home than ever before. The trees went on as far as he looked, the noises reminded him that any moment a wild animal might jump out at him and it was all just so green. He had repeatedly sent the demon flying up to the treetops, afraid of walking in the wrong direction. 'You're walking straight towards your doom', he had shrugged 'but it's the direction you want to go. Besides, it might be better to walk in the shade. Wouldn't want your sophisticated pallor to get burned, after all.' 

He did, in fact, feel better walking in the shade. The smell of the plants, though foreign at first, tugged at part of Nathaniel's mind, feeling like a half forgotten memory and filling him with melancholy. What for, he couldn't tell, but it got stronger the further he went into the forest.

As the sun wandered across the sky, Nathaniel's stomach growled. He had also not had anything to drink for a while and once they came upon a clearing, he left the path. Bartimaeus followed, giving commentary about their surroundings, as he had done for much of their journey. 'Over there's an ant hill. Those are good for protein, you should try some if you want to grow big and strong.' or 'Oof those are some mean birds. You should hear them talking. Meaner than the worst magician.'  
Hearing water gushing, Nathaniel found a spring and nearly fell into it in his haste to drink. Afterwards, he wiped his mouth and moved to get back up and walking.  
While he had been distracted, the forest had changed. The colours had become more vivid and the trees had become taller. Their sharp unkept branches seemed to reach out to Nathaniel. He looked back at the spring- had it been poisoned? Bartimaeus was inspecting the clearing as well so it must have been something powerful enough to affect them both.

The demon appeared to be upset, firing impulse upon impulse to inspect their surroundings.

They looked at the spring, sparkling in the sunlight that broke through the leaves. Surrounded by green grass and encircled by some mushrooms. There was a laughter in the trees, clear as a bell.


	3. Bartimaeus

We had been doomed the moment we had left that path. The world had changed around us and I could feel in my essence that something strange was happening. There had been a shift on all layers, so sudden that it should have been impossible.

The boy frowned- even with his dull eyes he could tell the difference. Close by, someone laughed.

A girl stepped into the clearing, a mocking smile on her face. ‘It seems we have some visitors’, she said with a voice that sounded marginally clearer than most humans’[1]. Suspicious, I looked at her on all seven planes but she had the same appearance on all of them[2].

She, in turn, studies us. ‘A djinn. How unexpected. Not many of you come here.’

‘Eh.. and where exactly is ‘here’?’

She ignored me and took a step closer to the boy. ‘I didn’t expect you to be here, either.’ she sounded puzzled.

Nathaniel found his voice again. ‘Stay right there!’ His voice shook even as he tried to look calm. ‘Who are you? Did Lovelace send you?’

‘Noone sends me, child. I was merely curious who crossed the border.’

She turned and walked towards the trees. ‘You should come along. I believe we have much to talk about, Nathaniel.’

The boy blanched. ‘What did you call me?’ he asked in an obvious attempt to seem nonchalant. The grass was rustling.

‘My name is John.’ he pressed out. ‘Who are you?’

And well- wasn’t that a revelation! I was curious how a random girl knew his birth name but for the moment, I was content watching the boy’s face. Really, it’s fascinating how fast it could change between pale as a sheet and raging red.

Without halting, she continued into the greenwood around us. ‘So many questions. You’ll know soon enough.’

[1]Humans have rough, unrefined voices. There is so much happening in your bodies that you can’t ever speak clearly. Every word comes out with countless other noises. The slurping of saliva, the raspy intake of air in between words. I suppose you don’t know any better since you can’t hear it yourselves. In contrast, all parts of our appearances are on purpose.

[2] Pale skin, dark hair, flowy dress. Agewise, older than the boy. Just in case you were wondering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter! Just wanted to write this from Bart's POV


	4. Nathaniel

Nathaniel ran after the girl. He followed her into the forest, further away from the path. The light coming through the trees had become weaker and everything was tinted green. Flowers sprouted at his feet, vividly coloured and smelling sweetly. Butterflies glistened above. The edges of his vision blurred and he felt watched, although he knew there would be nothing if he turned around.

Suddenly, the girl came to a halt. She plopped down to the ground and settled between the wild ferns.

‘I hate standing in entryways.’, she declared, like he was supposed to understand what she meant. ‘Sit.’

‘We don’t have time for this!’ Nathaniel was upset. He had to go or the empire would fall! People would die! And how did she know his birth name? Only two people could have told her and while he didn’t want to think about the first-

‘Is this your doing?’, he confronted the demon.

‘Nah, mate. Never seen her before.’ Bartimaeus had transformed into a big cat. A nervous big cat whose eyes twitched towards the wilderness behind Nathaniel.

‘You lie! I order you to tell me how you..’

‘Your slave tells the truth.’, the girl interrupted him.

‘And how would you know? I don’t even know who you are!’

‘You can call me Lyra. And you are Nathaniel. Or John. Names are unimportant here.’

‘You can call me’- so it wasn’t her true name, indicating that names might not be that unimportant after all to her. Names were the key to everything, everyone knew that!

‘Honestly, you act like I’ll attack you any moment. I won’t, don’t worry.’

‘Why should I believe you?’ Lyra rolled her eyes. ‘I can’t lie. None of us can.’

‘None of… you?’

She ignored Nathaniel and held out her hand to him. ‘Take this and focus on it. Think about it and try to feel the energy flowing through it. Then expand it.’ She dropped an acorn into his palm.

‘I don’t have time for this!’ Nathaniel threw the acorn aside. ‘Tell me how you know my name!’ He felt like he might explode.

‘Eh, Nathaniel..’ Bartimaeus had watched everything untypically silent. Nathaniel looked around. The plants on the ground had grown. The branches and trees had become longer, and there were thorny vines sprouting, some of them twisting around Nathaniel’s ankles. It felt like the forest itself had tried to swallow him.

‘You’re grasping that quicker than I’d have thought!’, Lyra exclaimed. ‘Sit down. I can show you how to make that happen again.’


	5. Lyra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some backstory

It had all started nearly twelve years ago. Lyra had exchanged one babe for another, losing and gaining a brother in the same moment. She remembered him, of course, but in the end he wasn’t part of her world anymore. He didn’t matter and overtime she didn’t care any longer.

She went on, flittering between the human world and her own. She saw the horrors of theirs, the oppression, the slavery, but she didn’t care about those. After all, it was not her place to. It was too dangerous to risk exposure for beings that would be gone in the blink of an eye. The oppressed would rise and new people would be in power and the endless circle would go on.

Lyra would listen to humans talk. How helpless they were, and how often they acted like their insignificant little issues meant anything at all. They amused her and sometimes she would help someone, or she wouldn’t. It was her amusement and as long as she appeared human nobody would take a second look at her.

Humanity had forgotten fairies. They didn’t protect their babies with iron amulets or thought twice when someone offered them help. The magicians were scared of their own servants but oblivious to the notion that there might be others they couldn’t control.

There were fairies who could change their appearance to anything from birds to humans. Others always assumed the same form. Changing became more difficult once they left their own realm. Some sprites never came to visit the human world. It was dirty and dangerous and they preferred the trees and plants of their home.

Once upon a time, things had been different. Humans knew about the fair folk, feared and respected them. Then, interactions had become rarer until they were forgotten.

From time to time, fairies would visit.

From time to time, they would take a human back with them.

In general, it was a fair exchange- a child for a child. Usually, the human parents never noticed the change. The new child would lose all fairy abilities and become a normal human baby. Some would have their power awakened when in danger which might be noticed by both humans and other fairies but in general, nothing out of the ordinary happened to them.

Lyra hadn’t even been in the human world when she felt something nagging in her mind. A reminder of something in her past. She became a bird and flew until she found the boy. He had not been her brother since she had left him behind, but she was curious what had become of him. She had been the one to give him away so she was the one feeling his powers awaken. What had happened?

She found him in the attic of a building in the city. It was covered in half rotten ivy that she pushed aside to settle on the roof and look through the window. He was lying in bed and looked so small. His nose was red and there was a small mountain of used tissues on the floor. There was a woman talking with him. Suddenly, he started coughing and shortly afterwards the women left. Lyra noticed that the ivy was no longer dead and withered but had turned green and had started crawling towards the window.

Something must have happened to have his powers awoken and Lyra wondered about what circumstances might have led to this. She flew down and saw an open window. It led into a comfortable kitchen that she carefully crossed. The next room was a staircase and it was there that Lyra first noticed the smell. It smelled like incense and rosemary. She flew up the stairs into a small library. The books in ancient languages and the papers covered in obscure signs on the tables confirmed her suspicion- this was the house of a magician. And the boy upstairs must have been his apprentice. Huh. This could be interesting.

‘Shush’ she heard a woman cry out suddenly. It was the same she had seen at the boy’s bedside, now armed with a broom and trying to shoo her from the room through the open window. Lyra knew when she was unwelcome and left.

She kept watch on the boy for a while before getting bored and fluttering towards the tall buildings at the riverside. They were encompassed by endless streams of spirits flying towards and away from them. The spirits couldn’t recognize her as anything but a bird. After all, she had not merely changed part of her appearance but had truly become a bird.

The bird landed on a tree branch and settled in for a long time of watching. And watching she did- she learned that there was a well oiled machine of backstabbing magicians ruling. As corrupt as they all were, they all used the same strategies. And the boy, Nathaniel, was a little screw in all of it. Lyra wondered how important this little screw was and what would happen if he became more creative in his bid for power. She hadn't had the opportunity to meddle in something this big for a while. A plan formed in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes sense.
> 
> Lyra is an OC cause I lack the imagination and patience to have Nat discover everything on his own.
> 
> I wanted to go with the 'Hebrew biblical name' theme for her but didn't like the ones I found (tho other favourites were Damaris, Phoebe and Athalia) so instead she's partially named for Lyra from HDM 
> 
> Which name would you have chosen?


	6. Nathaniel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one! 
> 
> Also a lot of exposition as usual

Nathaniel looked suspiciously at the girl. Why would she want to teach him- and what? She wasn’t a magician, that he was sure of.

‘Why should I trust you?’

Her eyes bored into him. They were dark and looked ancient. ‘You’re one of us.’

This only confused him more. ‘Who is ‘us’? You keep saying that.’

Lyra looked at Bartimaeus. ‘Have you figured it out yet? You’re old enough to still have heard of us.’ He shifted a bit from where he leaned against a tree, now once again in the appearance of the dark-skinned boy. ‘I have some ideas’, he finally admitted. He looked straight at her. ‘Fairy.’, he said.

‘Correct!’ The girl laughed and clapped her hands. She became more serious again. ‘Fairy, fae, melusine, if you want to get fancy- that’s what I am. That’s what you are.’

Once again, Nathaniel became upset, though this time he was able to hide it better. ‘You’re lying. I’m a magician. I am human, not some evil spirit.’

‘To be fair, you are a bit of an in-between right now. But you were born fae and you can become fae again.’

‘I was born human!’ Now he was talking louder. ‘There’s no such thing as fairies. You must be insane.’ Yes, that was the best explanation for this. Some mad girl was trying to pull him into her delusion. Bartimaeus was probably having a laugh at his expense, as well.

‘I’m telling the truth. Look at me.’ Reluctantly, Nathaniel did. Lyra changed. She aged in front of his eyes: her smooth skin got wrinkles and her hair became white and then, in a heartbeat, she was young again. ‘That only proves that you’re a demon!’ Yet, his certainty was already dwindling.

‘Nathaniel. I was not the one making the plants grow. That was all you.’ He felt that she was truthful, but didn’t believe her. Instead, he decided to play along in the hope that she might drop a hint to her real agenda. ‘Alright. So you are telling the truth. How do you know my name?’ That was what he really wanted to know.

‘It already was your name when you were given to the humans.’

‘ _Given_?’

‘Humans would call you a changeling. A fairy child exchanged for a human one.’

‘You took a human child? Why? Where is it now?’ He was shocked. Whoever these fairies were- they were kidnappers!

‘Somewhere. Fairies don’t really keep in contact. We see each other sometimes. But he is fine. He can return any time he wants to. We just need some fresh blood sometimes. Otherwise we’d go extinct some day.

It’s always a fair exchange. And we try to take care that the human parents we give our children to are good parents. They don’t notice the difference. The changeling has his magic sealed and it can only awaken if they’re in extreme danger. Were you in great danger lately? You did get sick later on.’

'I- yes.' He had become sick after ensuring that Bartimaeus wouldn't be able to use his birth name against him. Then he noticed something.

'How did you know I was sick?'

'I watched you.' Lyra answered like it was obvious. 'I knew when your powers awoke and I watched you for a while. It looked like you were safe enough.'

‘Why did you bring me here?’

‘I didn’t. Not really. I ensured any portal you came across would open for you but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.’ Her expression had become more serious as she talked but it changed yet again, like a leaf flickering in the wind.

‘Nevermind that, though. You’re here now . You could stay, if you wanted.’

‘Why would I? You still haven’t proven that you are who you say you are.’

Lyra looked at him. Then, she turned her head upwards. ‘Friends,’ she called out. ‘Come join us.’ Some of the butterflies descended. The closer they came, the less they looked like insects, the more they looked like something more alien. They had wings and their extremities still were stick thin but they appeared to be humanoid. They looked at Nathaniel with dark expressionless eyes and he felt a wave of hatred rippling over him. A fern rustled and suddenly the dandelions beneath it grew, no, lifted up from the soil and floated upwards. They, too, were little creatures and the blossoms were their hats.

‘Those are forest sprites.’ Lyra explained. ‘They live alongside us here. They used to be part of the human world but as the wilderness was destroyed by them, they had to find new habitats.’

One of the sprites had flown up to Nathanie’s eye level. It held up a sprig with berries and it smiled so beautifully that he wanted to look at it forever. The berries smelled sweetly and suddenly, Nathaniel noticed a pang of hunger. He reached for them and was about to open his mouth when the girl spoke again. ‘Oh, stop it.’ It felt like a trance had broken. The sprite hissed and bared sharp teeth.

‘If you eat something here, you cannot leave. I’m afraid the sprites are still hateful to anyone they perceive as human.’

Nathaniel huffed. ‘I can just walk out of this forest the same way I walked into it.

‘Do you still not understand it, boy? You have left the mortal world. You could sleep here for a thousand years when only a moment has passed there. This is the realm of fairies and eternal dusk. Here, we decide what happens to those who dare to enter. We are the ever changing and the never changing, the ones who will never lie and who will always deceive. But we are not the spirits from behind the elemental walls.’

Lyra raised a hand up to her hair and loosened one of the decorative threads in it. It was a small chain of metal. ‘This is made of silver. Ask your servant if you don’t believe me.’ She handed it to Nathaniel who held it up between his fingers and looked at Bartimaeus.

‘That’s pure silver’, the demon confirmed, ‘and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go around pointing it like that.’

The evidence was in the girls favour. What if she was telling the truth? Nathaniel was confused. How could it be true? And worse- what if it was and someone found out about it? This was the name debacle all over again.

Once again, plants were sprouting around him and the sight upset him even more. How could he return to society if he couldn’t control this weird ability of his? He would be found out in minutes!

Nathaniel took a deep breath and listened to his heartbeat. If he could only relax, this would all stop and everything would be normal again. If he thought about it, having certain powers might be helpful one day. He asked himself what else he could do.

‘Alright.’, he said calmly, ‘I believe you. What else can I do?’ Lyra looked at him and he realized her dark eyes were much like the sprite’s. He wondered if she too would try to trick him. Then again, that was what most people in his life had done to him. He would just have to be smarter than her.

‘Let’s make a deal. I teach you the important parts and how to use your abilities.’

‘What’s in it for you?’

‘I’m merely curious. Someone with your upbringing and with our abilities might be able to do extraordinary things.’ There definitely was a catch somewhere, something she wasn’t telling him. ‘You will also not tell anyone about fairies, nor will you show them the way into our world.’

‘My servant and I will be able to leave this world on my own accord.’

‘Agreed.’ They shook hands.

‘First lesson’, said Lyra. ‘You cannot say anything that isn’t true. And you cannot break your word. These aren’t just rules, either. It is literally impossible for you to do any of this.’

Of course she would only mention this after sealing the deal.

‘As you saw, silver can’t hurt you, but iron will. Furthermore, lemons are poisonous to us. I feel like those are important to know.’

‘Lemons?’, Nathaniel asked surprised. ‘I know. It sounds ridiculous but I’ve seen it happen. They used to be used as a precaution against fairies, long ago. Now, you must know that our powers are much easier used here than in the human world. I can take any appearance I want to here’, she had suddenly turned into a crow and flapped her wings a few times before changing back into the dark haired girl. ‘But once I’ve crossed the border, I can only make small changes. You will most likely be able to look any age you desire but not change entirely. Using any of your powers is a matter of intent. You must focus and it will happen, although it is a matter of practice. Try it.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine the sprites like the sprites from the Spiderwick Chronicles- one of the bookseries that's strictly speaking for kids, but that made me terrified of any sentient magical creatures because it's just that good at horror.   
> Look the designs up, though, they are absolutely beautiful.


	7. Bartimaeus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Bartimaeus chapter!
> 
> He is, unfortunately, woefully underutilized by me; I just find him hard to write

The fairy talked a lot. She explained and explained. I expected some to be untrue but she had demonstrated that she couldn’t lie. Ask any spirit, though, and they’d tell you that that was no obstacle. You could get just as far with half truth and creative wording. I’ll admit, I was only listening with one ear. Of course, all information might come by handy but all of this was nothing I could use directly.

So I sat down, enjoyed that I didn’t have an order to fulfill while Nathaniel was trying to master whatever the girl, Lyra, was telling him about. Time, she had explained earlier, was different here. Only minutes would have passed when we returned, no matter how long we stayed. 

For a while, I looked at my surroundings. Everything felt different. I wasn’t home but it wasn’t the world of humans either. It wasn’t besser, per se, just -  _ different.  _ The sprites were still floating around. They reminded me of some lower level spirits, fickle and quickly overtaken by emotions. Their appearances were more curious- very creative. Maybe I’d assume a form like that one day. At least Nathaniel was disturbed by it.

Too quickly I grew bored and instead reflected on my long life and on everything that had happened the past few days. I recalled millenia spent on earth, centuries passed in servitude and let myself be taken over by memories. Time became meaningless as I sat there.

After what could have been five minutes or hours, I heard Nathaniel call my name. ‘We’re leaving.’ He looked tired but determined. The fairy girl was standing beside him, smiling slightly. It was a content smile. ‘Take this’, she said to the boy. ‘It might help you.’ She handed him- was that a handful of seeds? 

‘Walk to the clearing where you first left the path. Cross the circle of mushrooms and return to your world.’ She looked at the boy. ‘You can always return.’

‘I won't.’, he replied and we left.

After a short while we reached the clearing. We walked across the ring of mushrooms. The change was instantaneous. The colours of the forest around us became faded, more washed out. The air felt just a little bit thicker and the bird’s song seemed deafening for a moment. The boy had a purposeful look on his face as he walked straight towards the path and left the clearing, like we had never been gone.

He didn’t talk until we finally saw Heddleham Hall. We appropriated a transporter to get through the security measures. With me behind the wheel and the boy in the passenger seat, we drove towards the big house[1]. Nathaniel looked at the clothes we had taken from the Squall junior.

‘I suppose they might be a bit big. And someone might recognize me if I look like this.’ 

He squeezed his eyes shut and slowly his face changed. His adorable little baby cheeks became more hollow[2], his chin became more angular and I could have sworn he  _ grew  _ a few inches.

Our disguises held up to the mercenary and after a sweat-inducing conversation we had both infiltrated the household of Simon Lovelace.

  
  


[1] No matter what anyone tries to tell you- I am an excellent driver. I didn’t think the grocer would be a perfect driver, lacking my own impeccable reflexes and experience. Swerving was therefore an appropriate character choice.

[2] Alright, I’ll admit that might be a slight overstatement. I doubt Nathaniel had ever been adorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back in the canon timeline!
> 
> I'm skipping a lot of the details since those stay the same as in the book


	8. Nathaniel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrival at Heddleham Hall.
> 
> A confontation ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the text in this chapter is directly from the book or an abbreviated version of the canon text!

Nathaniel sneaked through the house. He knew he wouldn’t get far in his current get up and was on the lookout for a way to fit in. Finally, he found a laundry closet that, besides sheets and tablecloths, stored some suits. Considering that they had been abandoned here, he assumed they were old and out of fashion, but he would manage. 

Even for his current physical age, they were still too big. Once again, he focused and felt the tingle in his body as it changed. He put on the clothes and left.

He didn’t know exactly where he was going so he started following a servant with a platter of food. 

There was a grand foyer made of marble ahead hustling with anyone who was someone in Britains’ magical society. Nathaniel could see multiple ministers but as he walked towards the room, he realized that he didn’t have a plan. If he bursted in, shouting about Lovelace’s plan, he would be laughed at and then locked up.

‘Prawns, sir?’ A platter was held towards him. He nearly startled when seeing himself in the polished silver as he took a canapé. He walked to a neighbouring which turned out to be a grand library with high towering bookshelves.

Slowly devouring the canapé, he stood in front of a window and regarded his reflection. 

A man looked back at him. He was tall, with ink dark hair, an attractive face and an air of importance around him. Merely the eyes had stayed the same. This man looked powerful, like someone you wouldn’t want to cross.    
Nathaniel liked him.

‘I don’t believe we have been introduced.’ spoke a voice behind him. An old man stood in the aisle. His tailored suit was impeccable. Undoubtedly a magician. 

‘I am Maurice Schyler. And who might you be?’

Nathaniel smiled politely. ‘My name is John. John Le Fay.’   
  
‘Well, John, what are you doing here? I don’t recall your name being on any guest list.’   
  
‘I was curious about our host. Even where I’m from I’ve heard about Mr Lovelace. It seems he has grand visions.’

‘That he has. I was unaware that he had admirers from far away.’   
  
Nathaniel walked past the man, pretending to look at the display cabinets.

‘Ah- you are admiring Miss Cathcart’s collection? If you see anything that interests you I would recommend Sholto Pinn as an expert of magical curiosities.’

Nathaniel tilted his head. ‘I don’t see anything of true power. Nothing comparable to the Amulet of Samarkand.’ He looked at Schyler.

‘I’m afraid anything that powerful is in the custody of our government.’

‘A shame. Just imagine all you could do with that. You could herald a new era if you’re only brave enough.’ His smile was sharp enough to cut. ‘I was merely reminded of my former master. He was fascinated by artifacts.’

‘More of us should be. There is much to learn from them. Is it possible I am familiar with your master? He sounds like an interesting fellow.’

‘He was stuck in the past and too sure of his own power.’ Maybe, just maybe, there was some bitterness in Nathaniel’s voice. ‘I doubt you’d have been impressed by him. Nonetheless, he is dead. Unknown cause, I’m told. He’d been... fired, shortly before. ’

‘I see.’ said Schyler. ‘My own master was of similar stock. And now you’ve come to support Lovelace?’

‘I have come to see that he gets what he deserves. He worked hard and I would hate to see his efforts wasted.’

‘Catch.’ said Schyler suddenly and threw something that had lied on top of one of the cabinets. Instinctively, Nathaniel caught it with his hand and immediately dropped it, hissing with pain.

‘What’s that? Did you put acid on it?!’ 

Schyler raised a hand and spoke a word. A shining black nimbus appeared, glimmering and fluctuating around his fingers. ‘That was iron. Who do you serve, demon? What do you want?’

Nathaniel threw himself to one side.

He didn’t have anything to defend himself and Schuyler was a powerful magician- wait! Lyra had given him a handful of plant seeds before he had left. He scooped them from his pocket and disappeared behind a bookcase, as a second plasm bolt struck just behind him. He could hear the magician coming closer and felt himself panicking. His body tingled and he felt how he lost his grip on his appearance. He heard footsteps coming closer. Nathaniel threw one of the seeds towards Schyler. He concentrated and hoped it would be enough to distract him. He turned a corner and felt that he was back in his twelve-year-old body.

The fight was unfair. Nathaniel might have been able to run faster and hide up on top of the shelves but Schyler was a skilled and powerful magician. In the end, Nathaniel managed to surprise him. He ducked behind a shelf and watched as the old magician checked the neighbouring aisles for him. ‘Come out! I don’t have the whole day to deal with some lowlife demon!’ 

Schuyler hesitated when he saw a door in the wall and crept towards it. He opened it, revealing a small room with a looking glass and a pentacle, but no one inside. 

Nathaniel had slowly but surely come closer, until he was in range. He threw his remaining seeds at him and focused on the energy circulating inside them. The reaction was near instantaneous and there was a blinding light. When it faded, Schyler was lying on the floor. He was entwined by vines too tight, that were cutting off his circulation. Their thorns prodded into his skin and some were drawing blood.

Nathaniel walked slowly towards Schyler. The magician did not move. Perhaps he was faking it: in a moment he would spring up, ready to fight . . . This was possible. He had to be ready for him. . . surely he would get up now. 

Maurice Schyler did not get up. The vines around his throat had managed to cut the oxygen supply to his brain in a matter of seconds and had led to his death shortly after.

Nathaniel’s shoulders began to shake. For a moment, he thought he was going to cry.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. When his emotion was safely contained, he stepped over the body of the old man and walked towards the pentacle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a lot of fun to write!
> 
> After this, the climax of the book happens pretty much the same way. In my opinion the big ending was always about Nat being smart and strong enough to remember the formula to release the spirit on his own, without any magical help (even Bartimaeus is mostly a distraction) so I didn't want to change that.
> 
> Also, yes, I had an incredibly hard time to come up with an 'instance of a word with two meanings being taken advantage of' so it turned to 'Underwood was fired'. There is another on just as bad in the next chapter. I apologize.


	9. Nathaniel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Afterwards.

After all was done, John Mandrake became the apprentice of a powerful magician with the suggestion that he could become an important figure if he kept working hard. 

He had dismissed Bartimaeus, now the only one who knew both his birth name and his connection to the fairies. His new master was challenging but he learned a great deal from her. She demanded respect and overall, John followed her instructions. 

Sometimes, though, he put on a hooded jacket and sneaked out of her white house. He would walk towards the abandoned library where he had hid after the disaster at the Underwood’s and where he knew no one would find him. There, he practiced the skill Lyra had shown him. In his opinion, he should use every tool at his disposal, and dismissing a power because of its origin seemed foolish.

He might not be powerful yet but he supposed that relying on his wits would bring him further than any amount of natural magic might.

Some nights, he would make himself look a few years older and try to find the resistance. So far, he had been unsuccessful but it was only a matter of time. Other nights, he would be an adult and hang around some of the pubs close to the ministries. There, he could hear what other, usually more untalented, magicians thought of current situations. Occasionally, he would even hear them talking about him. 

‘That Mandrake kid’, had one of them said, ‘He’s a weird one. Arrogant like all of them, but you look into his eyes and it’s like you’re drowning. Downright creepy. Like a demon’s eyes.’ 

Another agreed. ‘Right you are. And with Whitwell it won’t be long ‘till he’s down the same road as all of them.’ He shuddered. ‘I just want all of them to leave me alone.’ It took all of Nathaniel’s willpower not to react to those words. 

A few days later, the gossiping magicians had resigned. Rumour was, there was a man who had hung them headfirst from a tall tree on and had advised them to rethink their career choices. Another had been caught in a small hurricane of leaves. He’d been imprisoned by it for hours, the plants and the wind scraping at his skin, and had been powerless against it. He, too, had described the perpetrator: a dark haired man he didn’t recognize. His eyes had held an unusual pull and he had seemed old and young at the same time. It had been written off as an attack from a summoned spirit, but overtime a pattern emerged. ‘ _ Don’t talk about Mandrake’ _ was whispered between the clercs at the ministries.  _ ‘He knows everything.’  _ Quickly, gossip about John Mandrake declined sharply.

After hearing the comments about himself and to prevent another incident like with Schyler, John had taken up wearing a silver pocket watch. Everyone could see him using it and he hoped he could avoid suspicion when he refused to touch iron.

On rare nights, Nathaniel would go to Hyde park and sit between the trees. The moon would shine on him and everything would seem to glow. The park was abandoned at night, neither humans nor spirits having a reason to be there. Nevertheless, Nathaniel made the shrubbery cover him and he would think about another world, another life that might have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading and that I managed to put everything in what I wanted (I wrote this very disjointed and while I did proofread, something might have escaped me)
> 
> Leave a comment if you liked it! :D
> 
> (...yes the homonym here is 'leave')


End file.
